contact lens discussion thread (merged)

emmielou

I want contacts just to wear for a couple of hours when I go out. I tried some last time I went to the opticians and they were fine but she recommended that I came for a lesson and she would then send me home with several brands to try out and then come back 2 weeks later.

This was rather expensive so I left it as I only want them for when I go out which could be twice a week or not at all for weeks! I can't wear them for long periods as I have prisms in my glasses and my eyes would get v. tired without the prisms if left fo a long period.

Do you think that itwould be ok to just order some online and give them a try?

ailuro2

No, don't go online till you know what you're doing.

MY DH was first to get contact lenses in our house, specsavers taught him how to put them in and remove them for free, he signed up to get about twenty lenses per month, but cancelled after a year. They are £6.50 a month for 10 pairs, if you only need them for a couple of hours even when your prescription s a bit out of date if you're not wearing them for driving then they're still OK (DH is a slightly different prescription from me, but sometimes uses a couple of mine to go out in, or go swimming in, he can see OK with them in, they are disposable, though!)

**Juice**

I'd agree - until you know what suits your eyes and what you're doing, don't buy any online x

suki1964

You cant buy online till you get a prescription and you wont get that until you can demonstrate to the optician that you can safely insert and remove the lenses

specktor

I have been wearing dailey lenses for years now, buying a new set every month and putting them in and out every day.
A friend has said they also buy dailey ones, but leaves them in for 2 -3 weeks at a time, even at night. They have no ill effects.

As dailey lenses are cheaper than monthly ones and as you are sticking your grubby finger in your eyes far less often - this could be sensible all round - am I missing anything?

cheers

emlou2009

i find it hard to believe that someone would find it physically possible to wear a daily lens for that long in all honesty, and to put it bluntly i think they are bullsithing you!

i have seen patients at work that have put in a daily lens one morning and forgotten to take them out that night after a bender, woken up the next afternoon, and almost been unable to open their eyes, and had to come in to have it removed by a optom or go to A&E to have it removed! the eye would become very very dry and uncomfortable.

There are lenses you can wear which you can leave in longer than one day. i wear a lens which is safe to put in and then remove 30 days later, but most wearers find that they do need to remove the lenses at least once a week for cleaning and overnight soaking

tsabo

I don't see how your friend can wear them for so long! If I accidently fall asleep with mine in, or wear them too long then my eyes get very dry and uncomfortable.

I switched from daily to monthly and it was the best thing I did! Monthly for me works out abot £12 cheaper a month. The cleaning and storing routine is a bit of a hassle as first but it's very easy to get used to.

And as for your 'grubby finger' i hope you wash your bloody hands before touching your eyes!

C_Mababejive

The healthiest option is daily disposables.

I have tried both acuvue and daysoft dailies and i find that the daysoft are comparable but a fraction of the price.


Your friend is a fool to risk the health of his eyes in this manner.

specktor

I read somewhere that monthly and dailies are essentially the same lens, just in different packages and prices so I thought I'd give it go. For about 6 months now I've been putting in a dailey set and leaving them in for 2-3 weeks, when they get uncomfortable or need a clean, I bin them and put in a clean pair.

If my eyes feel fine (am due to go back for a check up) and I'm saving money - why doesn't everyone do this?

Yes - I do clean my finger, but no finger is better!
I suspect that it is the putting in and taking out when scratches and infections occur - risking it twice a day is surely worse than twice a month, if the lenses are the same.

emlou2009

they are not the same lens. all you need to do is hold a monthly lens and a daily lens next to each other to see that!

a contact lens has little microscopic holes in it to allow the eye to breathe. they also sit on a tiny cushion of air on your eyeball, like a hovercraft if you will. a daily lens has more of these holes in which means that the cushion of air will deplete which if done repeatedly could potentially damage your eye - permanently! your eyes could also get too used to having the lenses in and then be unable to cope with the naked eyeball being exposed, and thus need eye drops several times a day. i will add that i have seen this happen in patients myself. if this happens, the contact lens wearer can never wear lenses again!

the majority of eye infections involving contact lenses actually occurs from over-wearing lenses, and from wearing dirty or old lenses, actually, rather than dirty fingers. your eyes are exposed and are therefore surprisingly good at fighting off infections, which is what the tear duct does. if you are constantly wearing lenses, then you are trapping any possible infection under the lens until you remove it. that is why it is recommended that you remove them at night, to allow the eye to breathe